Namib Desert, temperate desert, extending about 1,500 km (about 930 mi) along the coast of southwestern Africa, mainly in Namibia.

The desert reaches inland from the Atlantic Ocean for up to about 130 km (about 80 mi) and is kept cool and dry by the effects of the cold Benguela Current offshore. About 51 mm (about 2 in) of rain falls each year.

Tungsten and diamonds are important mineral products, and Karakul sheep are raised in the south, where the Namib Desert merges with the Kalahari. The desert is very sparsely inhabited except for isolated communities like Walvis Bay and Swakopmund, both on the coast.